To enable an automated electronic commerce infrastructure that employs a plurality of dynamic agents, it is important to have an effective manner in which to communicate information to and from the agents.
There are two primary types of communication. First, there is the communication between the client and its agent (i.e., client-agent communication). An example of client-agent communication is the communication between a seller and the seller's agent. Since the client is often a human user, it is important that this type of communication feature a user-friendly and intuitive interface.
Agents typically operate on different computer systems that have different platforms (e.g., operating systems) and are remote from each other. For example, a seller agent may conduct business (e.g., sell products) on a computer system that is different from the computer system of the seller. Unfortunately, prior art systems require the seller to first log onto the computer system where the agent is operating or executing in order to communicate with its agent. As can be appreciated, it is inefficient to require a client to log onto the computer system where the agent is operating and wasteful of resources.
Moreover, it is also important for the communication mechanism to flexibly provide convenient access for the client to the agent from as many different computer systems, platforms, and devices without encountering difficulty. In other words, it would be highly desirable to have a communication mechanism that provides ready access to the agent from as many different platforms, computer systems, and devices as possible.
Second, there is the communication between agents (i.e., inter-agent communication). An example of inter-agent communication is the communication between a seller agent and a buyer agent. Since the agents may operate in different domains (e.g., entertainment versus banking), it is desirable for the facility for inter-agent communication to effectively communication information between different domains.
In addition, prior art inter-agent communication facilities do not allow for inter-agent communication across different domains. Instead, only agents from a common domain can communicate with each other. As can be appreciated, this approach is restrictive and severely limits the types of agents with which a particular agent can communicate.
Furthermore, the prior art approaches typically require a synchronous connection while communication occurs between agents or between the client and the agent. For example, a client is required to log onto the system where an agent of interest is currently executing and maintain the connection in order to interact with the agent. Unfortunately, in an automated electronic commerce system, where one can imagine tens of thousands of agents conducting business in a virtual marketplace, requiring a synchronous connection negatively impacts one's computing resources and the network through which the agents are connected. Consequently, it is desirable for there to be communication mechanisms that use an asynchronous connection, thereby saving resources. Unfortunately, the prior art communication facilities provided by the prior art electronic commerce systems are not asynchronous in nature.
Based on the foregoing, a significant need remains for an apparatus and method for allowing an agent to communicate information to others effectively, efficiently, and in an asynchronous manner.